I’m back, Villa are back and I hope they’re fresher than I. Actually I’m not too bad, all things considered. I wasn’t really able to do much more than see the scores and a snippet of the Blunder in Brugge. Given other current events, I have to say I’m glad I managed to miss out while chasing around temples, castles and gardens and marveling (again) at the audiovisual cacophony of Shibuya and Shinjuku. Also saw that Ramsey and Kamara picked up hamstrings, I think, and that Onana is missing, too.
So, it’s just a fresh page from me and hopes that Emery can get the blip sorted. I never like playing Palace, but at least it’s at Villa Park and then it’s Juventus midweek. I need the football to put a little hope, never mind joy, back in my soul.
Bogarde, Maatsen and Barkley all get starts with Cash and Digne on the bench, and let’s hope Leon can start turning the corner.
Over to you.
The Author
John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.Comments 168
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Oh great, the struggle continues. Obviously our offside trap no longer exists and we seem to be overplaying the fiddling across the backline even more.
Bailey still struggling – have to start slagging him off again.
His Olliness starting a scoring run?
Where is Dougie when you need him?
Then they score from a missed penalty!
Starting to hate football again,2 weeks to prepare and we concede from another corner for us
Watkins misses a good chance just hesitates
Unai doesn’t seem to have any answers at this time,so many of main men of form not clicking
Barclay equaliser and as I write it we cough another good chance to Palace
Palace hit post then martinez makes good save,we are so open
Point gained for me. Bailey seened to perk up when Cash came on. Barkley my motm and not just for scoring the equaliser.
Losing runs stop but still no win
How does emery lift us,juve and chelsea up next
Watkins Bailey mcginn tielmens are off form ,goals have dried up for duran,jaden and beundi can’t manage to control keep the ball,defensive we are a mess,too concede a goal from our corner 2 matches running is shambolic
Praying g some injuries heal for next match especially konsa
Tough one…Was ultimately a point gained, but yeah, a lot of players just not clicking in this one.
Me, I’d have liked to see a few more niggly fouls further upfield to keep the breaks down, was really all Palace had (and they did execute well enough). A lot of silly turnovers, some good interceptions.
Ollie did seem to hesitate, though he took his goal well. After Barkley equalized, I thought we’d go on to win it. Then Martinez had to make a brilliant save to push that chance onto the post.
Obvs the turning point was missing the pen and then conceding straight after. You always worry about that letdown, and it left us chasing instead of being in control. Poor effort from Youri on that one…saw he was 2-5 in last five penalty attempts, not sure why he was the guy, but now he’s 2-6.
Bailey had the good shot (which was probably a goal if he’d slid it across to Ollie), and the ball that went along the line straight through the box, but he’s still largely a net negative. Him and Bogarde, not a good look at all.
JG,
Just judging on this one, but the players were a bit off. Not sure how much the surface had to do with passing, but also just a lot of mental errors, holding on too long, playing a bit slow, trying little flicks.
I think Emery just stays the course, but yeah, some of these chances are coming too easily off needless turnovers in bad areas when we have numbers up.
On the corners, might need to rethink the distribution/set-up to help contain better.
Jc
If baileys shot had went in,or tielmens pen,it would have been different, most matches have been same,every single individual mistakes, error we are punished for,likewise missing chances watkins today should probably had hattrrick, Rogers couple matches missed easy chances mcginn had a great chance a header can’t remember which game,hopefully this is our bad run
Spurs have taken lead v city
Spurs 2 up,pep under p
Ha…Yeah, JG. City game reminding me of us. Goal from nowhere, well taken. Every bounce seems to fall to a Spurs player, poor passing decisions, etc.
We’d really benefit from a truly dangerous winger on the right. Kulusevksi has been great.
Agreed, hope this is just the inevitable run of bad form, which is really what it seems like. Haven’t been on since conceding that last-second equalizer to Bournemouth.
Spurs hit 4,
Pep is under pressure, not that he is getting sack just how to sort it out
Got windswept and soaked for my troubles today. We controlled the game but took a one, two on the chin from fast breaks (again). Reminded me of our game against the bindippers.
If Tielemans scores his spot kick we win. He didn’t and our lack of pace at the back was exposed to great effect.
After 4 defeats on the spin, guess we would start drawing games before winning them. But this was defo 2 points dropped. Had the game as a must win for us.
Once again we gave Palace an early goal and lived to regret it. First half Bailey was naff but looked more dangerous when Cash replaced Bogarde at HT.
Once again I’m left saying “a clean sheet, a clean sheet, my kingdom for a clean sheet”.
I was pretty upbeat about today’s game beforehand. Then I saw the team sheet and thought the midfield looked really lightweight. Wouldn’t be surprised if Unai doesn’t bring in a couple of midfielders during January.
And yep, when I got home and discovered Citeh had got battered, it eased the pain a bit. Can’t see them winning it this season.
Football is mainly about fine margins and we are on wrong side of them at the minute, everything and anything is going wrong
Hopefully konsa and kamara training mean they are fit for juve
Hopefully we can go with martinez cash konsa torres digne kamara tielmens Bailey mcginn Watkins and roers
James, listening to Unai’s presser for tomorrow he says Konsa and Kamara are in the squad but Ramsey and Onana are out. Here’s to another glorious night under the European lights at VP.
Plug
European nights are special
Konsa only fit for bench so carlos stays in
Plug if you are there,lucky b******d,enjoy so envious
I thought the days of Italian clubs paying the refs off was over,shambolic so far
Really unlucky from watkins,great pick out from kamara,shot from cash followed by lightening break from juve
Ref is a joke,juve deliberately stop Bailey taking quick free nothing yet we have 3 booked
Playing ok,could do with being a lot sharper quicker in everything,
Mcginn has been superb aided by rest bar rogers who has been poor
Finally a juve booked in 44miute
Off the bar from a digne free kick
JG, I came on here to see what you had to say about the referee. . . . I wasn’t disappointed 🙂
I had co e to expect that european referees would try to let the game flow, but this one seems to be an exception. The bookings, as you say are inconsistent at best and downright outrageous at times.
Having got that off my chest, it’s been good to see us more than matching Juventus in the Champion’s league at Villa Park.
We just edged that first half and are really unlucky not to be ahead.
Bailey seems to be slowly regaining his mojo which is great to see, and I do like Kamara in the middle. As you said JG, Morgan not quite at the level we’ve come to expect recently but we ought to remember he’s still very young and it’s perhaps not surprising that he’ll see a bit of a dip at some stage, after the super form he’s previously shown us. He has it in him still, hopefully it’ll come mouth again soon
Robbo
Ref still making me mad
Juve have had quite a few niggly fouls in 2nd half ,and no cards
We are missing ramsay drive,Rogers needs a rest but who comes on ,for me matasen wide left and maybe barclay for tielmens just to save tielmens from another card
What a save from martinez, Rogers sleeping at back post
JG, funny how thr same thing can be seen differently, yes Rogers might have got to the ball before the attacker, but I thought he did really well to react so quickly to get the ball away after Martinez’s save
Robbo
It was his man,
Subs kamara and watkins off barclay duran on
Mcginn had decent chance
Robbo
Yes rogers did react quickly to clear it,we are under cosh at minute
Well that was harsh.
Very very harsh
Disgraceful decision by var and ref,never a foul by carlos
If someone had said we would be disappointed by drawing at home to juve unreal
Fcuking cheating ref
The big takeaways are that we were the better side, kept a clean sheet, had more good chances, and were really unlucky not to win it.
Hopefully this gives the lads a bit of a lift and we start rebuilding our league form from here and can look back at the last month as a blip of poor form.
You’re right JG and the same thought had crossed my mind . . . We really didn’t look out of place at all
Yeah, that was a criminal decision to overrule the ref. Keeper comes, makes a hash of it, was never getting there, Carlos every right to go for it.
Really unlucky bar one header martinez done nothing
Watkins shot,digne hit bar ,mcginns chance
Mcginn excellent first half ran out of steam watkins kamara digne all played their parts ,Rogers goal would have stoned for poor performance
Ref was brutal
On to chelsea hopefully onana will be fit soon as ramsay
Have to say, r0bb0, marginally the better side. Bailey’s still been basically useless, Rogers had an absolute mare. Did have the better chances overall, but took a worldie from Emi to keep us level.
Other end, SJM should’ve scored.
That said, we should’ve walked out 1-0 winners. Not sure what that did for our confidence, but at least it was a clean sheet.
JC, as far as I can see, the ref didn’t blow for a foul so the VAR officials made the call that it was one, but surely that was a subjective call?
That’s really not what VAR is there for.
I think for me, still lots of poor decisions being made, basically and some players are just struggling for form a little.
I would like Onana back for Chelsea along with Ezri.
r0bb0,
Agreed. That stands in the PL now, nothing there to overturn ref’s decision. But VAR decided to bail Juve out, it seems.
Emery is struggling with bad form and injuries, but 1 moment stood out for me,young jaden was only on and on occasion showed juve breaking out from back and he was barely running back,why was he not busting a gut getting back
Even juve manager gotta couldn’t believe a foul was given
Mcginn explaining to ref why it shouldn’t been disallowed was funny watching it
JG,
My guess is that’s why Bailey’s still getting the nod, along with Emery trying to play him into form.
Have to be at it both ways and at least Leon does his job tracking back.
Didn’t realise martinez done a rhodri,showing off his trophies
He deserved it
You can also see where some of the luck/decision-making comes in. Cash having a go after the corner and the blocked shot coming straight back out to set Juve off on a break.
Can’t really tell players not to shoot, but there were a lot of bodies in the way.
Also wanted wring Carlos’ neck there at the end. Just pass it to anyone.
If ramsay not back I think matasen on left side of middle field has to be an option v chelsea
4 clean sheets in Europe without mings head wobble could have been 5,,unreal
We are on a bad run yet we are knocking on the top 8 in champions league ,only a few points behind 2nd in premier league,spurs can rest Johnson a 50m player bring on maddison a 40m player,likewise chelsea,heck said the money men were chasing behind,
Emery, maybe January monchi will be fit to pick up a few bargains,
Oh yes, that breakaway by Carlos. . . head in hands moment. You could al.ost feel his rising panic as he thought . . . “I’m running forwards. . . I’m out of my half. . . I’m still going. . . I’m approaching their box. . . arrrgghh. . . what do I do now??”
The answer was, just give it to someone who knows what to do with it at this end of the pitch. . .anybody!
For several moments, I thought we had Rogered them at the death. Scenes of delirium in the North Stand. Then it’s taken away by Spanish officials. Must admit at the time I wasn’t sure whether the ref had given a goal or a foul on the keeper.
It was a cagey game. Juve are very defensive minded but we did look decent in that kind of company. The return of Kamara held the formation together, he was superb and contributed massively to the clean sheet. Rogers and Bailey struggled to make an impact. But it was a winnable game. SJM should have buried his chance.
The player who caught my eye was their No 7 Conceicao. He was fast, tricky and dangerous. He was everything that Bailey wasn’t. Well done Digne and Co keeping him out.
Plug
Mcginn for Scotland buries that chance,he missed a reasonable chance couple matches ago too
It seemed to me that the ref had an agenda against us early doors. He was dishing out yellow cards for nothing whilst ignoring any Juve fouling. It’s fair to say he wound up the home crowd big time. There is a difference between UK refs and continental ones so there’s a learning curve for the players. His agenda continued to the end.
Emery must be so frustrated, diaby left and psr left us unable to replace him,emery put his faith in jaden which hasn’t been returned as I mentioned jaden isn’t busting a gut when he gets on so disappointing
Then ramsay injury woes return, on top of that beundi return looks like the player when he signed too small light and not good enough
Roll on chelsea hopefully onana is nearly fit and konsa is ready to start
Plug
What was Bailey booked for,I didn’t see it
So…..not quite the perfect night but I’m proud of the team. With 10 points, we should now have reached the play offs for a last 16 place with automatic progress still up for grabs. Leipzig for instance must now finish below us. And they’re up next.
I agree with JG above who suggests we try Maatsen on left side of MF against Chelsea. Sounds sensible to me but Unai knows what to do so I’ll run with his decisions.
James, I don’t know what he was booked for. At the time I thought it was for complaining but the ref was just flashing the yellow cards.
Is that 5 champions league games for ollie and only 1 disallowed goal for his efforts
Euros hangover going on to long, he played well enough last night but I wonder does duran deserve a start for Chelsea rough them up a bit bring ollie on after hour mark
Seen the incident between Bailey and digne fighting over a free , so unnecessary should have been sorted out by nanny mcphee
Amazon Prime are covering 3 of our games in December.
Wednesday 4th December 2024
20:15
Aston Villa v Brentford
Tuesday 10th December 2024
20:00
RB Leipzig v Aston Villa
Thursday 26th December 2024
15:00
Newcastle United v Aston Villa
You all know the drill, head over to Amazon, grab a cheap Black Friday deal and sign up for 30 days free trial offer of Prime.
DON’T FORGET TO CANCEL TRIAL ON 27 DECEMBER!
So we think it’s only ra.say still injured
My team for Chelsea
Martinez cash digne konsa torres kamara barclay tielmens matasen Bailey and watkins, leaving us with likes mcginn onana rogers and Duran to come on, another match we’d,sat Tuesday and Saturday coming up important to rotate players especially ones coming back from injuries
Thanks for the heads up 656. Don’t need them for the Brentford game but will do for the Leipzig and Wai Ayes.
James, it might be a game for Mings. Dunno, but Unai will have a plan.
Team news v Chelsea.
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, Philogene, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Olsen, Carlos, Mings, Maatsen, Bogarde, Barkley, Buendia, Bailey, Duran.
Onana still injured.
Ffs jaden,clear the ball up against again
Another miss from watkins,really adding up this season
I missed the first 10 minutes (maybe a blessing) but have been impressed with how we’ve played in the 10 minutes I ‘have’ seen.
. . .
Oh dear
Oo torres we are a shambles at this time
Phew!
Watkins s was so unlucky with his chance. He controlled it beautifully, set himself up well, and 9 times out of 10 that ball would have gone under the keeper’s leg, but it just brushed the bottom of his leg and popped up instead
Wow
The art of living dangerously
My word what is going g on,martinez rare error, then konsa and cash give away a stupid corner
Emery is looking perplexed on sideline, what is going on
We goy away with one there. If Sancho had gone down, I reckon it would have been given as a penalty.
Oh well. . . . .didn’t matter
Chelsea are divers and whingers though aren’t they
This could be a hiding
Too players strolling about ,emery plan of conserving energy is OK when winning, it’s 8 now since a win and we haven’t up our energy levels
It all feels so easy when things are going well, but this poor spell is really going to test the mettle of both the manager and players.
I honestly feel that we’re not ‘that’ far away from where we were last season, but the performances of a couple of key players have dipped and the confidence is now really thin
Don’t see jaden coming out for 2nd half,whatever emery has seen in him it has disappeared
I would say that this is also where the quality of the fans is tested and having taken a look at the Villa blog, we’re seriously wanting. I hope that Plug can tell us that the support from the fans who actually pay to go and watch the team is more resilient
JG, yes, Jaden must be performing on the training ground but he’s thebperfect example of a young player who really needs a boost of confidence. It all looks to be weighing down on him at the moment
Robbo
They are looney over there,I am annoyed pissed off but realistic it’s fine margins up to day
Today we are a shambles, young jaden is a complete passenger, in fact bar a defensive display from him v Munich he has been shocking
Can’t help thinking the honeymoon period for this “playing out from the back” routine is over. Pau is superlative at passing out from the back but isn’t really a natural defender. Right now, Pau is a luxury when we are crying out to stabilise our defence. Don’t know how match fit Mings is but we need his natural defensive instincts right now. Think we need a bit of Catenaccio right now. Let Pau play sweeper. Maybe he could discover his inner Bechenbauer.
Philogene looks like he just doesn’t want to be here. Is he another Chuk? How about a cheeky £20M bid for Dougie?
Yes, I’m feeling silly and punch drunk. When a team or player is on a terrible run, they go to Villa to recover. When can we go?
Martinez off olsen on
When you look at bench what can emery do nobody on form,Bailey beudi even durans early season buzz gone
One of the TV commentators: “another nearly moment from Aston Villa”, and that sums it up for me.
It’s just not quite working
Any word how long ramsay is out
John Mcginn is pushing his luck there, but he does have a point.
How is that not a yellow
They seem to have been very quiet about Ramsey’s recovery.
You can use derating why they’d be a bit cautious after the number of setbacks he’s had
Two misplaced passes from Barkley . . . you sense the players are just on edge and are making mistakes in skills that were just coming naturally to them not so long ago.
We so badly need Bidace or Bailey to click. It robs us of so much attacking intent when neither of them are able to get in behind and open up defences
Lot of complaints about monchi summerr dealings,what choices did he have wedid a deal with juventus chelsea and Everton to avoid
Point deductions,jaden was signed for europe
Shit palmer gets chelsea 3rd,everyone too static duran left picking him up or not
Where are senior players organising defensive work pathetic again
I thought the yellow card had been given to Madueka for the clear dive but apparently not
Ahh good. . . .it WAS given the right way
Anyone clock High Line on the other blog. f**m is back!
Well. . . . this has not been good today. Yes there were moments where the game could have tipped the other way, but in honesty, we’ve been second best for most of the game.
Chelsea are one of the two best teams in the league just now and we’re playing g them away, after a physical midweek game against Juventus, so I’m not going to be ‘too’ despondent, but we will need to see a reaction in the next few games
No goals now v chelsea juventus pool and bruge
That’s worrying
What does emery do for Brentford mings matasen Jesus’s even beundi deserves a go
Jbd656. . . Hahaha, yes I thought just the same about High line. He’s already been warned, but he won’t be able to help himself, so he’ll be banned again soon.
It’s felt tough to be a Villa fan over the last 8 games but to put it into a bit of context, we’re only 4 points away from a probable Champion’s league place for next season and only 1 point
off automatic qualification for the final stages of this season’s Champion’s league.
We ‘will’ need to see the players get their mojo back again soon though.
JG, yes the lack of goals is worrying, but we’ve been so so close on many occasions, so we are still creating chances. On another day, we’d have had 3 against Juventus and another 2 today . . . Fine lines.
Bad day at the office. Think we looked a little leggy. Too many players currently operating below form. If one thing was obvious, the difference between the two teams was pace. Everything is played slowly like a game of chess. Chelsea likewise. But when they made their moves, their pace was well above ours. Most noticeable with SJM, Rogers, Pau, Bidace. Even Konsa and Tielemans looked slow.
It’s why we look comfortable in Europe but are currently struggling in the EPL. A lack of pace. The EPL is much more rapid.
Atwell once again demonstrating the deficiencies of our refereeing fraternity. It was never a pass back by Pau to Emi. Pau was going to boot it clear until Emi dived on it. Even the cockney commentating said it wasn’t a pass back. But Atwell heard the crowd scream and couldn’t give them a free kick fast enough 8 yards out.
It’s now time to worry about Emi’s injury not to mention Onana and Ramsey. Bidace may be playing at a level above his standard. Rogers needs a rest.
RObbO, I can safely say the natives that attend the games are concerned. They also see the shortcomings. Despite this, it is well understood that we are hamstrung by PSR regs and turnover so have to grin and bear it for the time being.
Another defeat more big mistakes common theme all season, bidace clear the ball,cash turned his back ,Duran left picking up palmer,Europe bar 1 castrophe by mings none of the above why,mostly same players
This week last year we beat 2 best sides in league now we are hoping for at least 4 points at home from Brentford and soton
We all thought at the start of the season that we had added numbers to the squad and with our big 3 injured players back, we would be better able to rotate players to cope with the extra champions league games. Seems to me that we are carrying on from where we left off after that nil-5 thrapeing at Crystal Palace. Why are our players starting to look slow small and wimpy again? Hope there is more to Emery than endless slow passing around our goal and penalty areas. Will Emery have stickability if we are constantly held back by PSR regs. Are we on the edge of a Newcastle from last season.
Should we rethink Watkins? His game at Brentford was to run the channels and every where else. Let’s plant Duran in the middle and get Ollie to make space for him to shoot.
Pep seriously under pressure, can see him walking away,he has no answers just looks an old played out team,money badly spent
What’s anyone guess for team for Brentford
Martinez/olsen
CashKonsa mings matasen kamara barclay tielmens Bailey duran and watkins
Plenty of food for thought there 656. The chatter amongst Villa fans also centres around why are we so good defensively in the UCL but shipping for fun in the EPL? My six penneth on that subject can be summed up in one word. Pace.
Teams in the UCL are loaded with skill but operate at a slower pace. There are exceptions, Mbappe and Vinicius at RM, Musiala at Bayern etc. but teams are not stacked with pace throughout. In the EPL however, teams are loaded with it out of necessity because the league is rapid. And Villa are short in this department.
It’s why we look so slow compared to other EPL teams but competitive against UCL teams. Playing a slow game to preserve legs is fine, but we do need players with electric pace to use at the right moments. We have Watkins and Ned as far as I can see. Other perceived speedsters are not electric pace. So we are getting caught out in the EPL. Simply put, we need more pace.
Plug, you may well be right that part of the reason for our defensive frailties in the Premier league as opposed to Champion’s league may be pace, but maybe it also comes down to concentration and focus?
The Champion’s league feels like a real step up for us and you can imagine the excitement and nervousness in the dressing room before each game. I wonder if we’ve come to believe our own hype when it comes to the Premier league, and just aren’t showing the same level of intense concentration?
In each CL game you can imagine the players going in there with a ‘they shall not pass’ attitude such that everyone stays focussed on keeping the opposition out, but looking for the opportunities to break out and score.
Even when things were going really well, Unai Emery said several times “We are not contenders for the Premier league” – “seven teams’ have a better chance than Aston Villa”.
Perhaps he knew all along, but us fans thought he didn’t really believe it and was just trying to lower expectations.
Well, what if he was right all along?
Maybe that’s what the players need to have in mind each time they go out in a Premier league game, and believing we’re fighting for 8th place may help them have more of the attitude that they have when approaching a Champion’s league game.
It might not do the fans expectations any harm to think in terms of us really aiming for a top 8 place rather than Champion’s League qualification too!
Robbo
Expectations are high among us fans,yes we lost luis and diaby in summer but we signed onana for a club record, matasen rated one of best in champions league last season and a few others,no reason for Expectations to lower even with our possibly poor start even if results were going for us,so many players lagging in performances individually making mistakes leading to either conceding goals or missing sitters,Watkins is well into double figures of missed chances,2 games a fortnight apart we conceded from our corners,no lessons seem to be learned, I am fuming frustrated so I can’t even think how emery is coping, fine margins we need them to start going our way,even the great pep is struggling and 7hundred million pound arteta is not pulling up any trees
We just need a wi an ugly 1 0 will do
I wonder has emery had a chance to play his best side,with amount of injuries we have had,rumours this evening martinez has fractured a finger,
Couldn’t watch the match, but I didn’t have a good feeling going in. Chelsea really underachieved last season and it was inevitable they’d be better. And they’re a fast, athletic side, lots of high pressure. I think they’ve been as hard a side for us to play against as anyone.
I have to thank you all for being calm and rational, best way to catch up.
JG:
I certainly don’t think Emery has had his settled side. Kamara’s back, but learning Emery’s way and still getting up to speed. Probably a bit hesitant still, as well. Onana, well, he’d slotted in nicely and then ongoing niggles. So you’ve got that. Konsa, Ramsey. Rogers off form, Bailey seriously off form, Jaden a bit overawed, apparently.
So I think Unai would like his XI and the sub pattern. But more than anything, I think the lack of quality out wide is really hurting us. Just getting no production there on or off the ball. You look at some of the other wide players we face week in week out (and I saw someone mention the pace of the PL further up, which is a big factor), and we’re just not matching that.
What did the referee think he saw when Bailey was clattered just outside their area?
Did I miss something?
Obviously fluke goal by that useles Rogers.
This is more like it
But. . .
It’d still need us to get 2 more goals for me to relax!
Jbd. .
Yes and now a great run into the box to draw a penalty, that is converted. . .by the useless Watkins.
Oh how we’ve missed seeing us play like this
Ollie did trifle with my joi de vive but just about fluked it in…..WTF? The worst right back in the world has freaked a third.
Come on Villa – give the moaners a break!
And yet I’m still not relaxed!
Very noticeable to me that Mings has got our back line by the scruff of their necks and is keeping them pushed up the field. Seems to be bossing the midfield as well and keeping them off the toes of the defense.
Bye bye clean sheet. I obviously got it wrong about Mings.
Bloody hell. . . . How good has their goalkeeper been?!!
Barkley is starting to piss me off.
What a great game Rogers has had. . . He can be so influential when on top form and we’ve missed him
You’re not the only one jbd who recognises Mings’ contribution
I like the way Mings employs the KISS system of defending. Pau is too much of a slow wimpy fancy dan luxury for my defense. I don’t know if Pau can muscle up and toughen up his approach to defending to keep going in this league.
Would love to lock Duran into the middle of the attack and have Ollie and Rogers buzzing around him.
Felt proud of how well both Ollie and Tyrone spoke tonight
Is Clattenberg talking shit? I don’t see how Ollie influenced what the defender did. What would the defender have done differently?
Hearing Mings talk reminded me of Gareth Southgate back in the day. Plays in the same position. Wonder if Mings has got managerial ambitions.
Jbd, I know what you mean about Mings. . . We do feel more secure with him at the back, playing a more traditional, straightforward defenders role.
Well, something to enjoy at long last. Sleepy start, then we really got after it.
I didn’t enjoy the nervy spell after giving one back, but then we seemed to calm down a bit and regain our composure. Those
We have been missing Ty, and I wondered what sort of dilemma his return might pose for Unai. But he was acting like a captain, organizing, instructing. Naturally more physical and better in the air. Seemed fairly at ease in the system, but I guess he has been watching it for a year and he’s not dumb.
He and Ezri look a lot more natural together. Was nice seeing them together again.
Sorry…those periods we get where all of a sudden half the team goes headless make me crazy. Saving the ball from going out just to hand it right back. Heading a ball up and right back. Keeping it alive during a scramble and giving it right back in the box instead of giving up a corner. So many little poor decisions just domino.
JC, yes, those ‘headless’ moments are so frustrating. I don’t like unqualified criticism of individual players, because everyone has to be allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, but both last night and in the previous game, Barkley’s head just wasn’t in the moment. It seems really out of character, for a player with such talent which probably makes it all the more frustrating. As the season goes on, he can be a vitally important player for us so let’s hope it’s just a temporary blip.
There was another one from Philogene last night, giving away an ounce essay free kick out on the wing and allowing them to put a ball into the box, similar to the one that lost us the game in the last minute against Bournemouth I think.
Whilst Ive just had a go at the lad, I actually thought he showed some positive signs last night. One of his runs in particular seemed to be brimming with confidence, and even a bit of cheek. . . .and it was good to see. Maybe he’s a player who needs the overall confidence levels in the squad to lift and it’ll rub off on him too.
Sorry about the spelling. . . .I’ve had a lifetime of carefully checking emails and reports, and now I just write and press ‘Post Comment’ without even a quick scan. . . . . . must get back in the habit!
Now I may be seeing things that weren’t there, but was Ollie spending more time out on the left last night? Given that Emery was hinting that we may see more of Ollie and Duran on the pitch at the same time, might Ollie go out more to the left, leaving Duran in the more traditional striker role when they play together?
One thing I was really pleased to see last night, was Duran’s more unselfish play. He really seemed to be part of the team rather than just playing for himself, and he gathered the ball and looked for a team mate on a number of occasions. It would be great if Emery could find a way of effectively harnessing the two of them out there for certain games, or for when we’re chasing a goal.
Numbers were down at VP last night. I think a combination of very late start, 3 weeks out from Xmas, televised match, current form and cost of living took its toll. It was gone midnight when I reached home.
But for those that did turn up, we got a better performance and much needed win. I was delighted to see Tyro starting. With him and Kamara in-situ, we do seem more solid. But despite the scoreline, I was still one of the nervous ones until about 5 minutes from the end.
Bailey/Bidace on the right forward duties remains the main problem. So many attacks break down with Bailey but I believe he was the one who put Ollie through for the penalty. When the left side is not functioning at full dixie I’d try Maatsen there whilst Ramsey is injured. Him and Digne down the left side feels tasty.
Rogers scored a sublime goal. He defo needed that. SJM is strong but his legs are not as athletic as there were. Big Jhon looked a handful again. He might have got a goal or two. Indeed, we might have easily scored 6 if not for Flekken in their goal.
The substitution of Kamara on 70 minutes filled me with dread. I had nightmares of shipping 3 in 9 minutes again like the last home game against the Bees. But it never transpired. Thought when Bidace came on, the team pretty much ignored his side of the pitch, preferring to attack left side instead. Maybe they don’t trust him.
So it was great to get the 3 points. Great to see the useless Cash drill home a beauty, great to see the useless Ollie warm the keepers hands from the spot kick (well it was a cold night) and great to see us hitting our straps again.
Plug, were there empty seats all over the ground, or just in the hospitality areas?
I see that Shay Given’s criticism of Pep Guardiola’s use of Grealish has been heard, and Pep has moved him into the centre, where he’s thriving.
I’m sure that Pep is a very good manager, but is he a great one? Could he have done for Villa what Emery has done, or can he only do it with at least 2 £70m players for every position?
Grealish has won the trophies he craved, but Pep’s arrogance or ignorance seemed to be designed to stifle his creativity, by keeping him out on the wing where his role was restricted to receiving and quickly laying off the ball, or drawing a foul (at which Jack is superb).
Now he’s been forced into it, perhaps even Pep will have to accept what he’s been missing
robB0, let’s call them the premium seats. They are never sold out, you can always see some empty spaces. And ignoring the spaces in the away section which teams such as Brentford don’t fill, there were still plenty of empty seats interspersed around the various stands. How many of them were season ticket holders who simply didn’t turn up, nobody knows outside of AVFC.
Pep has managed 3 clubs. Barca, Bayern and Citeh. In each case, most of the heavy lifting is already done for him. But you can still fail, Ancelotti has only been lifting UCL titles for fun but is under threat now at Real.
What he is good at is forming a possession based side that moves with pace and purpose to keep the pressure on opponents. When that pace and purpose comes with £70 million players it’s irresistible. His choice of selection and how he can utilize a player has been known to be suspect.
r0bb0
Yes, Ollie did seem to be drifting left. I don’t know if that was Emery’s plan or it was just Ollie’s natural game and he can’t help himself. There is a bit of free spirit with Ollie and he seems to enjoy rampaging around the top end of the pitch like a little kid. Perhaps Emery’s insistance that he stays disciplined and confined to the width of the goal suffocates Ollie even though it turns him into a more regular goalscorer. Not knocking Ollie but I don’t think he is a natural goalscorer in the way Duran is. I do confess that I have been boring for England on this subject. I will try to obsess about something else. Let’s try turning Torres into a sweeper behind Mings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plug, I asked about the tickets because the impression from elsewhere was that it was purely the ‘premium’ tickets which were undersold whereas my impression from the tv was similar to yours. As you say, they may have been empty because of season ticket holder, midweek commitments.
I do however agree with others who say that the pricing of the premium tickets, from the outside at least, looks as if it may need rethinking. The stipulations around the tickets when bought through the club have been too onerous for me, although I will be taking another look to see if I can get up to the Celtic game.
Jbd. . . . not sure Emery will put Pau in the sweeper role. . . . he already has Martinez! Having said that, there were several occasions on Wednesday night when I was surprised that Martinez didn’t come out for balls which I had expected him to. I wonder if the couple of shaky decisions he made in the previous game were playing on his mind, or if he was acting under instructions.
Seeing Spurs lose to Bournemouth highlighted just how competitive the Premier league has become. It does look as if a top 4 may breakaway, but beyond that, you can imagine any one of 9 clubs taking the 5th Champion’s league place (assuming it does indeed fall to England this time round).
I was going to qualify that by picking 3 teams from the 9 who’d be favourites to take the 5th spot, but let’s face it, nobody thought that we’d get 4th last year, and that includes all (honest) Villa fans. With that in mind, I really do think that any of those 9 clubs could take 5th place, and the same must therefore apply equally to 6th-8th, so we’re going to have to fight all the way to achieve European football again next year.
I see there are posters on the other blog still with the knives out for Ollie. What world do these people live in? Haaland misses far more, and far worse opportunities than Ollie, but I don’t hear City fans saying “let’s swap him for something better”.
I’d like one of them to name the striker they’d take in his place. Some have suggested that we should use Duran instead of Ollie, but whilst his commitment and attitude has been genuinely impressive this year, he doesn’t yet bring what Ollie does to the team, and hasn’t ‘yet’ shown that he is ready to start games for us. Even he now accepts that he has a bit more progress to make before he can expect to start ahead of Ollie.
Got to wonder if the game might be cancelled tomorrow. Weather forcast is utterly grim.